Our Christmas Table 2018

Christmas 2018 will be our son Hooper’s first Christmas, and we are very excited to host our immediate family* at our home for the first time this year. The guest list includes both sets of grandparents, which is such a lovely First Christmas experience to give Hooper. There will be lots of fun Christmas music, excellent conversation, a bubbly drink or two, and in lieu of gifts, we are each contributing something to the day.

Whilst most guests are kicking in for the main meal – prawns, roasted meats, cheese (glorious cheese), a favourite dessert dish or a selection of craft beers – my contribution was to convert our sitting room into a dining room for the big day, and decorate the table, a task I was ridiculously enthusiastic about. So much so, that I started planning and crafting for this table in October! I wholeheartedly Christmas-ed the crap out of it.

Early on, I opted to take inspiration from the existing decor in the room, which is predominantly yellow, teal, sea foam green, pink, gold and … err, animal print (that’s a colour, right?!) I have never been one for traditional red and green so the idea of a hot pink and teal/sea foam scheme for the table was pretty exciting.

As was my list of DIY projects, which was ambitious from the get go:

Appliquéd fabric placemats

Cloth napkins with the initials of each guest

Customised chargers for under each plate

Decorated crackers with ribbon

Place cards

A hand-painted table runner

Pillows for the dining chairs

All in the non-traditional colour scheme – which included burl-wood chargers for a hint of wood at the table.

In reflection, that doesn’t seem like such a long list, however when you are creating eight of each item, and limited to the hours your baby is asleep, it ended up being prudent that I started when I did.

At the eleventh hour (Christmas Eve Eve, because I like to set my tables up as far out as I can for this exact reason) I changed my mind about the centrepiece and sewed not one but two additional layers to put underneath the hand-painted 3m runner I had previously created. It was quite literally the eleventh hour, and Spotlight was closed, so I rummaged through my fabric stash to find a metre and a half of hot pink velvet for one layer, and sewed some left-over greek key trim onto an old white linen tablecloth for the second layer. No regrets, although I sure was tired the next day #whoops!

I plan on writing step-by-step posts on each of these projects as they are quite universal and you could easily adapt them to non-Christmas events, but the purpose of this post is to share the end result – the finished, decorated table.

I couldn’t be more pleased with how this Christmas table turned out. We do not have the space or frequent use to justify a formal dining suite in our current home, as such, the dining “table” is a set of two folding trestles from Bunnings, covered in two 3m tablecloths with the runner conveniently hiding the join. I feel that the energy of the table certainly distracts from its humble foundations. Interestingly, photos of our rental from when it was first purchased show this space to be a designated dining room (complete with fireplace that was removed long before we moved in) and it was fun to repurpose our sitting room, even if just for one day.

Now… we feast! Merry Christmas and the happiest of holidays to you, however you plan to spend the day. I hope you have a safe and pleasant time with your loved ones (and may your slacks have a benevolently stretchy waist!).

*Whilst Hooper’s cousins, aunt and uncle will be sadly absent this year (they are dreaming of a white Christmas in Chilliwack, BC) we will be linking up with them via Facetime once we retire to the living room for some movie watching intermittent napping.

Source List

Please let me know if you are interested in the details of any of the items from this post, I would be happy to help you track them down! Some items may no longer be available for purchase, where possible I have linked a similar product. DIY items and the materials used to make them will be featured in an upcoming post.

Lyndsay

Oh Kalyn, thank you, that means so much coming from a talented and creative soul such as yourself! The little bugs are just the best colour, I couldn’t resist incorporating them into the table, the challenge was finding the right use, but as place cards they worked out perfectly! Thank you for visiting!

Ingrid

Finally got the chance to enjoy your first blog post! So beautiful, so inspiring and I cannot wait for the step by step guides for each project! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas day, I’m sure you did!! Happy New Year xx

Kathy

Lyndsay

Hello, Lyndsay! I’m so glad and excited that you have a blog now!!! I’ve been following you in IG since 2016. Oh how I love the way you design your home! And you’ve introduced me to cozamia art, so beautiful! Looking forward to more of your posts!

Have a prosperous new year to you and to your family!

Lyndsay

Thank you so much for your lovely words Trish! How great is Nancy/Cozamia?! I credit her entirely with the use of colour in our home, everything is chosen to celebrate and compliment her art! Your blog and feed is a feast for the eyes (including your new little baby girl, what a little treasure!) Thank you! xx

Ooooo I didn’t get to see all this colourful goodness until now! The table setting is just BEYOND pretty, I don’t know how you manage to pull so many lovely details together…what a total treat to sit at this table!

I’m super late here but THANK YOU Lyndsay and Trish! I am loving all the love lol, what an incredible compliment although I definitely cannot take that kind of credit Lyndsay, you are always too kind…I’m just so grateful that I get to see my art in such a beautiful home.